Game Preview: Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals

Another Sunday means another day of football, this week we have an NFC west matchup between the Seattle Seahawks (4-4) and the Arizona Cardinals (6-2) at Century Link Field.

The Cardinals have gotten off to another great start behind Bruce Arians and the seemingly ageless Larry Fitzgerald. The receiver out of Pitt (11 years ago) has been enjoying his best season as a receiver since 2011 when he had over 1400 yards receiving and eight touchdowns. This year Fitzgerald has 704 yards in his first eight games and is already one of the league’s best in touchdowns with seven this season.

That all goes without mentioning the man throwing the football in Carson Palmer who is having the greatest season of his career. He’s at an all time career high with a passer rating of 110.2 and an overall QBR of 84.8, while also leading the league in yards per attempt with 9.18. The Cardinals are two games ahead of the Seahawks and look to extend that lead with a win on Sunday.

While the Cardinals boast one of the best offenses in the entire league it’s the Seahawks (this might be hard to believe) that are only siven yards away from being the number one overall defense in the NFL. With blown fourth quarter leads and a team that’s struggling to get a playoff read it’s pretty easy to overlook the stats. Although the Legion of Boom has suffered it’s unwanted media attention with Chancellor and the miscommunication of Thomas and Sherman against Carolina, this secondary is STILL number two in the league. I think they deserve a little more credit than they’ve been getting. Without a doubt a win here could not only boost the Seahawk’s stock but could be the game that puts them on another run as they did last year after starting 3-3.

Matchups to Watch

Chris Johnson vs The Seahawks Run Defense

What a phenomenal find for Bruce Arians in the wake of Andre Ellington (yet again) going down with injury. Chris Johnson was brought straight off the streets and in the first couple weeks there was wonder if he would even stay on the team for the entire season. That patience turned into 676 rushing yards and a 4.8 yards per carry average. CJ2K (formerly) is enjoying a revival year and while he’s been one of the best after contact running backs in the league he’s going to need to put those stats to the test against a top 10 rushing defense in the Seahawks. With Bobby Wagner seemingly healthy and Bruce Irvin enjoying one of his best seasons, Chris Johnson is going to need all 203 lbs of himself to get through this one.

Cary Williams vs Wide Receiver 2 (Floyd/Brown) 

I still have faith in Cary Williams as many in the Seattle area have groaned about him being the weak link of the secondary. I’m making a prediction here that Williams has one of his better games against the Cardinals and I say that because he’s still a part of the LOB and for what it’s worth I like his matchup this week. While John Brown is questionable to play and Michael Floyd is enjoying a nice three game streak that includes 20 targets and three touchdowns, I think Williams has the bounce back game that he’s been needing. At 6’1 and 190 lbs he has the size to matchup with Floyd and enough burst to slow down an already injured John Brown if he plays. It’s probably not the popular vote but I’m taking Williams on Sunday.

Seattle Offense vs Themselves

It’s really hard when your quarterback has to scramble for 40 yards before he throws the football on what seems like every passing down but somehow Russell Wilson gets it done. The defense has played well enough to win games but this offense is only putting up 20.9 points per game, that’s worse than the Jaguars, Texans and the Dolphins. As great as it might be to have the number two overall defense you’ve got to give these guys a little help and put some points on the board. Money is tight in the emerald city so no trades were made on the deadline but having a leaky offensive line and undrafted receivers catches up to you eventually. Marshawn Lynch is questionable for the game but Rawls has shown he can fill in. This offense is in need of a well put together day against a defense that ranks number three.

Prediction

I’m going to give Seattle a fast start against the Cardinals but not the entire game. I think we’ll see a few lead changes in the 3rd quarter and another 4th quarter showdown at Century Link field. The Cardinals are enjoying great success but I think the Legion of Boom gets back on their feet and Wilson does what he knows best at the end of the game. Seahawks win 28-24.